We were delighted to welcome into Kendrick School some students from primary school Years 4 and 5 on our Widening Horizons Programme, who, supported by some of our older Kendrick students, took part in some exciting workshops.
If there is something which unites the whole of humanity, it must be our ability to tell stories. This is the one thing which allows us to put ourselves into the mind of another, to be able to understand and sympathise with experiences such that we can never personally experience. Therefore, when the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures at King’s College London invited A-Level German students around the country to imagine ourselves as citizens of early 20th century Germany, and write an account of our experience perceiving a certain technological advancement for the first time, I was very keen to take part.
We are writing from Kendrick School to wish you a heartfelt and joyful 100th birthday. Our students and staff join millions around the world in celebrating your extraordinary life and the profound impact you have had on our understanding of the natural world.
We are delighted to share the fantastic news that one of our students – Ellie in Year 13 – has been selected to represent the UK at the prestigious International Biology Olympiad (IBO) this July in Lithuania.
The IBO is one of the world’s most challenging and respected science competitions for secondary school students, bringing together the very best young biologists from across the globe. Selection for Team UK is an extraordinary accomplishment and reflects not only academic excellence, but also resilience, curiosity, and a genuine passion for the life sciences.
During the week of 16th March, we were thrilled to run Fairtrade Week, to raise money for the Fairtrade charity and awareness of what we do in the school on a regular basis. Our role as the Fairtrade Team is to run a stall on Tuesdays during the second break in the servery, where we promote and encourage students to purchase fairtrade products for their personal shopping.
Fairtrade is a charitable organisation and sustainability label, working to make trade fairer for the people who grow our food, by guaranteeing farmers a fair minimum price and protecting them if the markets drop. This initiative was established at Kendrick many years ago, and we were honoured to take the lead and continue this tradition.
We were delighted to welcome into Kendrick school some students from Primary School Years 3, 4 and 5 from our Widening Horizons Programme, who, supported by some of our older Kendrick students, took part in some exciting workshops.
On 13th and 17th March, we had the opportunity to watch French and German plays in school, performed by a theatre company called Onatti. This was available to all Year 9 and Year 10 students studying either language. The Year 10s, studying both French and German, were fortunate to see both.
On Monday, 2nd March, we visited the University of Reading to learn more about what studying modern foreign languages at university is like. The day was designed to give us an insight into university life and the many opportunities available when studying languages.
Olivia entered Reading Symphony Orchestra's Young Musician of the Year 2026 Competition. She competed against seven other fantastic musicians, who all performed amazingly well.
International Women’s Day on March 8th is a global day recognising the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women while calling for accelerated action to advance gender equality. The Kendrick Student Leadership Team organised many activities where we reflected on the contributions to society that women from a range of backgrounds, including those who started their journey as Kendrick students, have made. This year, the IWD 2026 Give to Gain campaign encourages a mindset of generosity and collaboration.
At the start of 2025, I was blessed with the opportunity to experience life on the big-screen, as one of the cast members (Young Nelly Dean) in Emerald Fennell’s 2026 adaptation of Emily Brontë’s renowned Wuthering Heights.
Though I did sometimes indulge in the fantasy of acting and the fun perks that came with it, I’d never seriously considered acting in an actual project. It was my brother (now a drama school student) who was aiming for Hollywood, so I would sometimes help him tape his auditions and read lines for him. Consequently, my mum was part of many audition forums online where they’d send out open casting calls. It was on a whim and “just for fun” that I decided to sign up for an audition that fitted my description and, by a stroke of luck, I managed to land the role.
As 2026 commenced, we challenged students to write poems on the theme of 'beginnings'. Students interpreted this brief in a variety of ways, producing a stunning, profound and thought-provoking array of poems. We are grateful to our guest adjudicator, Miss Stansfield, for choosing Deshna (Year 11) and Adhvika (Year 9) as our runners-up, and Falaq (Year 10) as our winner.
You can read their poems below – many congratulations to all students who entered this competition!
Mr Dilley – Subject Leader of English